


Timeline Cave In

by SomeSmallLegoBricks



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Storyshift (Undertale), Canon!Everyone & Storyshift!Chara & Asriel, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sans (Undertale) Doesn't Remember Resets, Timeline Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 10:48:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20274676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeSmallLegoBricks/pseuds/SomeSmallLegoBricks
Summary: The Underground is built around two things, even if the monsters there don't know it. One: The tragedy of the Dreemurr family, where two children were killed in one night. Two: Determination, and it's ability to send one back in time. So what happens when two new factors are related to both of these pillars? Well, to put it simply, the story becomes a lot less neat and orderly like it was in the normal game.Chara and Asriel find themselves in the Canon Universe, where they have to make new plans and form new relationships, with people who may not be that different to the ones they knew.





	1. The Cave In

“Come on Chara, I finally figured out the piano puzzle!” Asriel shouted as he ran through waterfall.

“I’m comin’ Rei. Keep your bandana on.” Chara said as they slowly trudged behind him. On one hand Chara was doing this to annoy their brother, forcing him to stop running every few seconds to wait for them to catch up. But on the other. Chara spared a glance of the shoulder. Shifty was still following them. The slightly younger human has been trailing behind Chara and Asriel all day now. Chara turned their attention back to Asriel.

“_A mirror indeed _ ,” Chara thought. Shifty reminded Chara so much of when they first arrived underground. Curious and blank. At least after a few resets, Chara finally made a breakthrough and connected to the Dreemurr family. But Shifty, Chara still had no idea what caused Shifty to stop. Sure they could attribute it to killing them so many times when they tried to murder the whole undergound, but Chara wasn’t sure about that. They haven’t even _ loaded _ since they reset from that particular timeline. This was the longest timeline Shifty has done. Around three years Chara has been watching them, and they only got blank stares in return. They’ve basically only been talking to Asgore about engineering, and a few miners, but that was about it. Shifty hasn’t connected with anyone, they haven’t been _ living _ for the past few years so why. Did. They. Stop? 

“About time you started moving to catch up Chara.”

Chara paused in their walking, finding that, they indeed have been walking faster. They shook their head and forced their pace to slow down. “Well of course, I’d do anything for my little brother,” they said with a smirk.

Asriel pouted for a quick second before his lips curved up. “If anyone here is the _ little _ sibling it’s you Chara. I passed you last year.”

Chara looked up to give him a slight glare. He was right, but Chara would always have a leg up on that. “Fine then. I’d do anything for my _ baby _ brother.” Asriel puffed out his cheeks and continued down the path.

They finally made it to the piano room puzzle. Asriel ran from Chara to the piano and climbed on top. Chara’s eyes locked onto his feet on the wooden panel.

“Uh, Asriel? You sure that old thing can support your weight?” Chara asked. Their eyes flickered to Shifty, who was standing stockstill by the cave entrance. “_ If he breaks it I could always just kill them to force a load _.” Chara shook that very dark thought from their head.

“Hm?” Asriel looked over at Chara. “Oh, no it’s fine. I already tested it yesterday. Besides, I’ve got to wipe off the dust again.” Reaching as high as he could, Asriel wiped his furred hands against the stonework.. He had to get on his tiptoes to get the top of it, but when an audible creak groaned out, Asriel quickly went back to standing flat-footed against the wood. Once he was done he hopped down. Chara approached to inspect his work.

Asriel dusted his hands off. “Well, what do you think?”

Chara squinted. “Are those . . . music bars?”

Asriel nodded. “Yep! A couple days ago I noticed them carved into the stone, and I bet if you play it we can solve the puzzle and find the legendary artifact!”

Chara just stood a foot from the piano looking at the carvings. There was something off about them. The “font” was much different than other old stone carvings Underground. “Nice job Rei. Now if you can actually write those notes down for me, I can play this thing.”

“What, you can’t read it yourself?”

Chara stepped right up to the piano and experimentally pressed their fingers against the keys. The top stone wall was jutted out, forcing the carvings to be barely in front of Chara. “Well I _ could _ if you wrote them down, because my stupid human eyesight makes it hard to see from here, so unless you want me to play on stilts, I’ll need you to transcribe.” 

“Well I guess I have no choice but to help you then, since you simply don’t have the skill like a deity like me would have. It would be an easy matter for me to do such a thing.”

“Oh?” Chara asked with a smirk. “Then why don’t you, oh god of hyperdeath?”

Asriel looked off to the side. “Well, I could . . . if I knew how to play the piano.” Asriel walked over to the left wall and pulled out a piece of crumpled paper. “I didn’t think we’d need music sheets, so I’ll just have to draw the lines, sorry if they’re messy I- oh thanks newcomer!” 

Before Asriel could press the paper against the wall, Shifty pulled out a small piece of blank sheet music, only about three lines long. Asriel took it and pressed it flat against the wall.

“You know, at some point, I need to come up with a better nickname for you than “newcomer,” you’re not exactly a stranger after three years,” Asriel remarked while writing on the piece of paper. Shifty did not respond.

“_Don’t bother Rei, it’s not like they actually care about monsters anyway _ ,” Chara held back. “ _ They’re just waiting for whatever they want and then they’ll either leave or kill us. _” 

Before Chara could continue with their train of thought, Asriel slipped the piece of paper onto the piano. “There you go. Now that you’ve had the help of a deity Chara, there’s no way you won’t unlock the puzzle!”

“I’ll do my best bro.” And with that said, Chara began to play. The tune was simple; it started low rose to higher notes, and then jumped back to low. It took a couple of times for Chara to get the exact timing right, but when they did, the stone door opened by the back wall.

Asriel jumped up. “Yes! We did it! They’ll put our names in the history books! Let’s go!” he shouted before dashing into the room. 

Chara turned to get up and noticed something. Shifty was now about half a foot away from the piano, a bit too close for Chara’s comfort. Their facial expression was . . . different. “_ Maybe nostalgic? _” Chara thought. And they were just staring at the piano. Chara carefully slid away from the frozen human, and entered the room.

The room was fairly small, maybe a little smaller than Chara’s bedroom. It was completely blank. The only thing of note was a pedestal by the back wall with a red orb resting on top. Chara walked up to besides Asriel as he stood in front of the pedestal, looking at it in wonder.

“Whatchya waiting for, bro? Grab it,” Chara said.

Asriel shook the stars out of his eyes he turned to Chara. “Why would I do that?” He asked while tilting his head. “We both got it, we should grab it together.” 

Chara wrapped their arm around Asriel in a one-armed hug. “Aw, thanks Rei.”

Asriel returned the gesture. “Of course Chara. I may have found the solution but you’re the one who actually solved it. I’m not going to steal credit from you.” When the two of them released each other, they both walked to the pedestal. Each of them stood on one side with their hands at the ready.

“On three, ready, Chara?” Asriel asked. “One. Two. Three!” Both of them reached their hands out and lifted the orb from underneath. “We did it!” Asriel cheered. Chara couldn’t help but smile. They were sure was at least as goofy as their brother’s.

“Oh, are you going to take a picture for this newcomer?” Asriel asked.

Chara froze, and slowly turned their head to see Shifty had their phone out. They pressed something. They dropped the device by the threshold, and bolted out of the room, back towards the hallway.

“Watch out Asriel!” Chara moved on instinct. They dove over the pedestal and covered the monster’s body with their own. They both hit the ground not a moment too soon as Chara heard a thunderous BOOM go off behind them. The room shook and rumbled. Something slammed into Chara’s back. And then again. Then again. But Chara refused to let the pain buckle them, they were determined to not let Asriel get crushed.

The ground continued to shake, the rubble shifting and slamming into Chara’s back and sides like dice in a yahtzee cup. After what felt like hours, it all stopped. Chara had no idea what was going on. All they knew was that there was a lot of weight on their back, and it was very, very dark. 

“R-rei, you good?” Chara asked, coughing up some blood. The silence after the question sunk into Chara.

“Yeah? I think so. What happened?” Asriel answered, after what was probably a few seconds.

Chara chuckled without warmth. “The human decided to bury us under this rubble. They were probably hoping to kill us with this than have to fight us head on.”

“But Chara,” Chara could hear the confusion in Asriel’s voice, “the newcomer wouldn’t do something like th-”

“Yes they would! I’m not just saying that because they’re human. I know what they’re really like!” Chara spilled out.

The terrifying silence came back. Chara counted ten breaths before Asriel said, “Okay Chara, I believe you.” Asriel paused again. “So, what now?” 

Chara tried to push the weight on their back. They almost collapsed from the pressure. “I have no idea,” they grunted out. 

“Oh, I know! I’ll use some magic,” Asriel said.

“Don’t Rei, the destruction would probably kill us both.”

“Calm down, I just was going to bring some light.”

“. . . oh, I guess that’s fine.”

Asriel snickered before Chara’ eyes were filled with light and colors. Once Chara’s eyes adjusted, they noticed Asriel chest was right below them. His hands were close together holding a star of shifting color. Looking up Chara had to withhold a gasp at his injured state. A few rocks and cuts were sprinkled across Asriel’s face. And judging by his expression, Chara was pretty sure they weren’t any better.

“Heh, are you pregnant Rei?” 

“W-what?”

“You just have this glow about you.”

Asriel huffed. “Really Chara? Can you ever stop teasing me?”

“Nope.”

“I thought so.” Asriel looked around. “Okay, so, on the plus side, we still have the legendary artifact.”

“Oh my god Rei, forget about that thing!”  
  
“No! I don’t want us to get out of here with nothing to show! Once we do, Mom’ll heal us up, and _ then _ we’ll be heroes.”

“_That is, if we get out of here at all_,” Chara thought. “Well, let’s first worry about getting out. Asriel, my phone’s in my left pocket. Try to fish it out and call Dad, he’s on speed dial. Just hit two.”

Asriel shifted the star to only be emitting from one hand and reached the other into Chara’s pocket. They yelped.

“What the-” Asriel began as he pulled something out from the pocket. A long winged green serpent was pulled out of Chara’s pocket, a space it definitely could not fit. Once out of confinement it slipped out of Asriel’s grasp and wrapped itself around the red orb. The next thing Chara knew, the artifact was gone, and the snake was slightly bigger. 

“Did you . . . did you just _ eat _ the legendary artifact?” Asriel asked.

“Uh . . . actually I think it absorbed it,” Chara pointed out. Before Asriel could respond, the serpent’s tail flicked his face. And then if flicked Chara’s. It’s tail then landed on Chara’s hand, and whipped back and forth between Asriel and Chara’s hands.

“What the heck is it doing?

“I . . . think it’s telling us to grab its tail?” Asriel said.

“I think so too. But I don’t think I can move my arms with all these ro-” Chara was cut off as the serpent’s tail slipped into their clenched fist, pushing through the space between the skin like thread through the eye of a needle. Asriel lifted his own paw and wrapped around the tail above Chara’s hand.

The serpent launched itself out from in between the siblings. Chara and Asriel were yanked from the crushing weight of rocks, directly into rubble wall. Even as Chara felt their face slam into the stone, they could tell it was giving way to them much easier than it should, almost like paper mache constructs rolling off of a car.

Chara distantly took note that Chara’s and Asriel’s arms should have probably ripped off at this point from the sheer speed and force, but were somehow intact.

The world grew colder, the force of slamming into the rubble grew more and more distant. Chara would’ve thought they were falling unconscious if it weren’t the warmth from the snake and Asriel’s body. Chara’s vision of everything else but these two creatures they were holding onto faded into darkness.

And then . . . something shattered.

* * *

Shifty wiped the Aaron’s dust off of their prop chainsaw. Finally. With that annoying human out of the way, Shifty can perform a real tragedy. They admit, it’ll be hard to get back into the Ruins, but Shifty was confident that by following Alphys, they’ll find a way.

A cracking sound echoed down the hallway. Shifty spun their head around to see the wall had a new crack. Hmm, the explosive was stronger than Shifty intended. No matter, they’ll-

And then the crack spread. But not just spreading in the wall, but in the air. Shifty’s eyes widened. The cracks in reality started to spiral and spread outwards like glass. No, no, no. Shifty had to load. Shifty had to reset. Shifty had to-

* * *

“Asriel?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you alive?” 

“. . . No.”

“Me neither.”

Chara pushed their sore body a few inches off the ground. They seemed to be right outside the collapsed artifact room. Shifty and that snake were nowhere to be seen. They looked over to Asriel. He was . . . completely fine. All the wounds and injuries he got during the cave in were completely gone. Chara looked down at their own hands and arms and found they were completely fine. Not even a wrinkle in their gloves.

Chara fully pushed themselves off the ground, a groan slipped from their lips. Once Chara was on their feet they held a hand out to Asriel, but he was already getting up himself.

“So . . .” Asriel began. “Where’s the legendary artifact?” 

Chara closed their eyes. “I’m . . . pretty sure that snake thing left with it after it saved us.”

Asriel hung his head. “Aw man. And I wanted to make history today.” He took a breath. “But if that’s what we had to do to survive I’m fine with-”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard it too bro,” A voice echoed from down the hallway. Chara and Asriel turned around.

“You and Undyne can check on your end, and I’ll check on mine,” the monster said. The monster walking down the hallway was wearing a blue hoodie and a white shirt underneath. His sneakers were untied. He was a short skeleton. Chara and Asriel stood rigid.

The monster stopped, seemingly taking the both of them in for the first time.

“Uh, nevermind Pap, pretty sure I just found the cave in, and maybe the ones who caused it.”

“K-k-king Sans?” Asriel asked. Chara was thankful their brother was there, they didn’t think they could be as articulate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always loved Asriel and Chara's characters in Undertale, and found it a shame that we didn't get to see what they were like in Undertale. So I decided to write this. This'll have some of my own headcanons about the characters and things we couldn't find out about the cast and Underground during the game. This will heavily feature Storyshift elements, so it would be useful if you know of it, but I'll probably change things or just get them wrong while writing. As always, comments and constructive criticism are welcome.


	2. Introductory Clashing

There was a solid beat of silence as Chara and Asriel stared at Sans. His face and entire body didn’t so much as twitch as he stared back at them.

“Heh,” he laughed. “King Sans? Now I’ve been told I’m a royal pain but being king takes the crown.” A loud voice on the other end of the line said something. Sans didn’t even flinch the phone away. “What? Not you Pap,” his eyelights looked off to the side, his sockets crinkling, “just talking to some people in Waterfall. Yeah, they’re outside the cave in. No they’re fine, but you and Undyne should come over here to meet them. We’re over by the piano room.” With that said, Sans ended the call and pocketed the phone.

Asriel perked up. “Undyne’s coming here?” he asked.

“Yeah, you know her?” Sans asked.

Asriel scratched the back of his head. “I’m a huge fan of her.”

“Nice, what about you?” Sans asked turning his attention to Chara.

Chara resisted their urge to frown. Something was off about how King Sans was talking. Chara shrugged.

“Who isn’t? I’ll admit, I’m not as worshipping as my Rei, but I like her.”

Asriel blushed. “Chara! I’m not-”

“Did you cause the cave in?” His voice cut through Asriel’s protest. Asriel stiffened, while Chara’s eyes snapped open. They both turned back to Sans. Still standing there. Still watching them. Still smiling.

Asriel waved his hands in front of him. “N-no. Of course not, y-your majesty! We just solved the piano puzzle and then Shifty, well, we’re pretty sure Shifty was the one who caused this . . .” Asriel trailed off. Their gaze moved to the side and their expression became pained and confused.

Chara stepped in. “I know Shifty did it. I saw them use their phone as some type of bomb. They activated it, dropped it by the secret puzzle door, and bolted.”

Sans’ eyelights looked off to the side as he rubbed his chin. “Shifty huh? Okay, I’ll let Undyne know who to look for. But in the meantime,” he looked back at Chara and Asriel. “How about we properly introduce ourselves to each other. I’m Sans, Sans the Skeleton.”

Chara stopped the words, “We know your majesty” from tumbling out of their lips. Asriel looked to them, and Chara shrugged.

“Well, I’m Asriel Dreemurr, and this is my sibling Chara.”

Sans paused. He slowly looked from Asriel to Chara. “Asriel and Chara, huh? Nice to meet some new pals. Put er there.” He reached out his hand.

Chara repressed their mischievous smirk as they smoothly and quickly took the handshake. Chara didn’t have time to revel in the feeling of ketchup exploding between their hands as a noise erupted out.

THPPTPHTPHPHHPH~

“Hehe,” Sans laughed. “The ol’ whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It’s always funny.”

Chara’s surprised expression quickly morphed to glee as they saw Sans retract his hand, revealing the miniature, now red, whoopee cushion in his hand.

He looked down at his own glove. “Not that I don't appreciate a good prank, but you wasting food like that is making me see red.” The corners of his eye sockets crinkled ever so slightly.

Chara shrugged. “You’re right, I’m a demon. You caught me red handed.”

Sans laughed, “Heh,” he looked away from Chara and past them. “Speaking of which. I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to put a cop on the conversation. Because Undyne and my brother just showed up.”

Chara froze. Their head whipped around to see a tall armored figure marching out of the darkness towards her. At first, Chara thought it was her mother. But Toriel never, even on her worst days, marched as aggressively as that. Chara was pretty sure that the boots coming into view were actually making indents in the earth.

Chara’s eyes widened as they finally noticed the face poking out of the royal guard’s armor. Undyne . . . but different? The iconic shiny metal on the side of her face was gone. Instead replaced with flesh, as if lava never touched her face. The only sign of an injury was the eyepatch covering her left eye.

Asriel perked up. “Undyne!” He shouted as he waved at her with a smile.

Undyne’s warpath of justice slowed down as she received the warm greeting, letting the monster farther down the tunnel have more time to catch up to her. Once she stopped in front of the three of them, she scanned them. Her gaze looked over Sans, literally, past Asriel, and landed on Chara. Before Undyne could even think anything about that, Asriel stepped into her gaze and offered his hand.

“Howdy Undyne! My name’s Asriel,” he said cheerfully. “I’ve been a huge fan of yours forever, and I’m sorry that we haven’t been able to meet until now, but I’ve been so busy with my training in Snowdin that I haven’t had a chance. Nice to officially meet you face to face!”

Undyne’s face morphed into confusion. The ridges of her eyebrows scrunched together and her single eye flickered between Asriel and Chara behind him.

“Oh, please don’t fight us. Normally I wouldn’t pass up a chance to spar with you, but,” Asriel trailed off. “Chara doesn’t like sparring and I’m honestly a little shaken up over the whole cave in ordeal.”

“Ah, do not worry Asriel! Undyne is on duty; as she only will spar during her offtime with friends and acquaintances you have nothing to fear,” the tall skeleton monster said. Chara blinked. Either he ran quicker than before, or Chara was getting really distracted by watching Asriel awkwardly interact with Undyne. He was wearing armor, but of an obvious different style and caliber compared to the royal guard, and a red scarf around his neck. “I’m the Great Papyrus, nice to meet you!” He offered his own handshake next to Undyne, and Asriel took it.

“_That’s odd_,” Chara thought. “_Undyne doesn’t normally hang out with others, yet he seems familiar to her. Maybe he won in a fight, or at least impressed her? I don’t remember him, but his voice sounds familiar so I might’ve seen him on the show at one point or another._”

“And who is . . . Chara?” Undyne asked.

Even from behind Asriel, Chara knew he blinked. He turned slightly and pointed over his shoulder. “They are,” Asriel pointed out.

Chara frowned. They could’ve sworn Dad showed Undyne a photo of them at one point, or at the very least talked about them.

“You mean the human, you know its name?” Undyne asked. Her fist on her side opened up slightly, still tight. Wide enough for a spear to form.

Chara flinched. Okay, that hit too close to home. Chara couldn’t help but remember the disrespect the soul hunters gave them when Toriel stood in their way. The threat of the spear was much less painful than the look in Undyne's eye.

Papyrus looked a bit uncomfortable off to Undyne’s side. His sockets were shifted to look towards her and magical sweat formed on his skull.

“Why wouldn’t they Undyne?” Papyrus asked. “It’s only polite,” he said, stressing the word “polite.”

Before she could respond, Asriel cut through. “Of course I do! They,” he stressed the pronoun, “are my sibling! I can’t believe this! Not only not knowing the children of your mentor, but also attacking them? If you really wanted to kill Chara for their soul, you would’ve done it years ago! Only now, when they’re in front of you, you decide to mercilessly kill them.”

Undyne’s face was extremely confused and angry. Chara couldn’t blame them though, they were feeling about as stunned as she was. Granted, Chara knew objectively, that Asriel loved them. But they’ve never seen Asriel defend them like this. Granted, whenever soul hunters were around, Toriel would be the one scolding and yelling. Watching Asriel from behind, it was like seeing a mirror image of Toriel without the armor.

Before Undyne could interject, Asriel continued. “I can’t believe I looked up to you! Sure, you’re really strong and your fighting is second to none, but I can’t admire someone who is so, so . . . unjust!”

Undyne staggered back, as if physically struck (Although as Chara thought about it, not even a physical blow could knock Undyne like that). Silence filled the hallway. Chara’s eyes nervously darted back and forth between Asriel and Undyne, They were tempted to create a magic knife, just to see if it is possible to cut tension.

“Hey kid,” Sans’ voice piped up. Asriel and Chara looked behind to see Sans standing there still. “What’d you mean about “she would’ve done it years ago?””

Asriel’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Chara’s been Underground for years. Undyne would’ve known about them being here by now, surely. I know Dad talks to her about us.”

Sans paused. “Hey Undyne, why don’t we head out to the lab? From what I’m herring, this has goat to be a misunderstanding.”

Chara perked up at that. “_Right! Dad can calm Undyne down. Besides, I haven’t seen him in awhile,_” they thought.

Papyrus put a hand on Undyne’s shoulder. “Right! I know we’re all angry or confused, and I’m sure the good doctor can help clear things up!”

Undyne looked at Papyrus, then at Chara and Asriel, then at Sans. She threw her hands up, and turned around. “Fine! Let’s go to the lab. There’s something weird with these two, and I want to know what’s up!”

Sans raised a finger.

Undyne whirled on him. “Don’t start.”

He put the finger back into his pocket.

Undyne marched ahead, and Papyrus followed.

Asriel took a calming breath, and followed as well. Walking next to him, Chara threw an arm around him.

“Hey Asriel, thanks. Again,” Chara said.

Asriel smiled. “Anytime Chara.”

Sans watched the four of them retreat down the tunnel, before he turned around and walked in the opposite direction. He vanished, like an eraser wiping clean a whiteboard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who think that Asriel was a bit OOC with that rant there are a few factors to consider. 1) He's the son of Toriel 2) He's a teenager with a little flair for the dramatic 3) He almost just lost his sibling to cave-in, he wasn't going to just lose them right afterwards to his hero.
> 
> Otherwise, please comment any thoughts, criticisms, or responses.


	3. Cautious Probing

“Ugh, I hate Hotland,” Undyne groaned as she drank her third bottle of water. She crushed the plastic and tossed it into the molten rock below. Papyrus already had another for her to take.

“Quite honestly Undyne you know you shouldn’t wear metal in Hotland,” Papyrus said. “The heated metal is just making the problem worse. Why don’t you take off the armor?”

Chara could physically feel Undyne resisting the urge to look at them. “No,” she said.

A hush fell over the group. Only the sound of the creaking bridge reached the traveller’s ears. Chara shifted their attention to Asriel. “You okay there Rei?” they asked. “You don’t look you’re doing too well under all that furr. You usually bring a nice cream or something when we visit.”

Asriel was panting. Sweat matted his white fur and drenched shirt. A soaked rainbow bandana was wrapped around his forehead. He was moving his shirt back in forth, trying to create a slight gust.

“We’re just about to make it Dad’s. He has air conditioning, I’ll be fine,” Asriel said, trying to prove his strength by lying about how okay he was.

Chara nodded and turned their attention to Undyne walking ahead of them. Right when she finished the water bottle, instead of throwing it away like the others, she stopped at the water cooler and filled it up. With a sense of temporary rest Chara’s gaze drifted to the edge of the stone bridge. 

Past it, far below, was the Hotland’s ever present, brightly glowing magma. The warm glow was suffused with magical power, in a subtle way Chara never noticed before. The magma was hot, and useful for many of the monsters here. But just one small push and even the sturdiest of monsters would-

“Hey Papyrus,” Undyne said, snapping Chara out of their trance. “You go and tell the lovebirds up ahead to go to the laboratory and stand guard. I’m escorting a human there, and if they leave . . . unescorted, tell them to deliver them to the King.”

Papyrus’ expression shifted as if to suggest he would be frowning if he could. “They are not dating yet Undyne! We have to respect their relationship,” he said. As Papyrus walked ahead Chara heard underneath his breath, “No matter how frustrating it may be.”

When Papyrus got out of earshot Undyne whipped her head around to Chara and Asriel. “Don’t think for a second that either of you could overpower me now that I’m alone. If you even think about attacking me, or anyone else . . .” she left it hanging.

“We get it Undyne,” Asriel said. He wasn’t warm, not icy like Toriel either, just formal.

Undyne nodded. “Good, let’s go.” Without another word she continued marching forward. Chara and Asriel were quick to fall behind. Whenever they stopped before, Undyne would instantly turn around, and give them impatient glares for making her wait.

They all stopped in front of the lab. Undyne raised her hand to knock next to the door. She paused. Letting the spear in her hand to dissipate, she used both her hands to smooth out her ponytail, and wipe off her sweat.

Asriel looked to Chara. “ _ Is she trying to look nice for Dad? _ ” he mouthed.

Chara’s face scrunched up. “ _ Ew, no, _ ” they mouthed back.

Once Undyne finished adjusting her eyepatch, her spear reformed and she knocked on the door.

“C-come in! I’ve unlocked the door!” a high, stuttering female voice said. Undyne stepped forward and the laboratory doors slid open.

“ _ That wasn’t Dad _ ,” Chara thought. The two of them followed Undyne into the laboratory.

The first thing that Chara noticed was that the gardening tools on the wall were gone, as well as the wall holder, and any signs of there being one in the first place. Chara froze in place alongside Asriel. Both of their eyes were locked on the wall, searching for what can’t  _ not _ be there.

“ _ Something is wrong, _ ” Chara thought.

“What? Never seen a lab before?” Undyne asked, pulling Chara out of their daze. “Come on,” she said. Both Chara and Asriel trailed behind her, both cast glances over their shoulders.

Once past the hallway they stopped again. A lot of the permanent fixtures were the same, but everything else was different. First off, all the flowers were gone. The interior was a pale green instead of a beige. Instead of a neat and orderly computer desk there was multiple piles of papers, letters, and magazines scattered around the old monitor. An unrecognized dog food brand sat off to the side; instead of neatly rolled up the bag was left open. “ _ Let me amend my previous statement. Something is very wrong, _ ” Chara thought. While being dumbfounded by the environment, Chara almost missed the inhabitants.

Sitting in the rolling chair by the computer was a small yellow dinosaur monster. Chara would say she was a relative of Monster Kid if it weren’t for her arms and triceratops like frills. She was in the middle of eating some ramen from a container and talking to Sans. Chara blinked as they realized the small skeleton was leaning against the computer desk and talking to Alphys.

“Look out,” Sans said. “The fish of the sea and guests at seven o’clcck. She’s here for that thing I told you about, so keep the ogling to a minimum Al.”

The monster choked on her noodles. “I don’t ogle Sans! I-I just . . . you know, appreciate her a-aesthetically.”

“So I guess that thing with Asgore last week was a spontaneous medical examination?”

Her face went directly from a yellowish orange to red. “Sans!” she shouted. He laughed through her embarrassment.

“Hey Alphys,” Undyne said. “Uh, what are you talking about?” The monster now identified as Alphys spun around in her chair in shock. Chara wasn’t sure how she was turning more red, or if it was healthy.

“Undyne,” she squeaked. “I-I wasn’t- I mean i-it’s aaaahhh . . .” she trailed off. Her gaze darted from Undyne’s and landed on both Chara and Asriel. “Ah!” she exclaimed. “A-are those the two Sans told me about?”

Undyne looked behind her and she went from nervous and tense to stony and firm. The tension in her shoulders didn’t exactly leave, but shifted. “Right, yes,” Undyne said. Her eyebrow narrowed and she turned her attention back to Alphys. “I found these two by the cave in. They’re acting weird. They claim the human’s been here for years but this is the first I’ve heard of it.”

“Oh!” Alphys said. “Well, that’s definitely not the case. If a human was down here for that long we definitely would’ve found signs of them by now.”

Chara frowned.

“Right.” Undyne nodded. “That’s why I wanted you to see if the human mind controlled him.”

“What?” Asriel and Chara asked at the same time.

“Ah,” Alphys looked off to the side. “Y-you do know that only Mew Mew has that power, right?”

Undyne shrugged. “We don’t know for sure that other humans don’t have that power. We need to know for sure.”

“W-Well if you’re s-sure Undyne. I’ll check.” Alphys scurried out of her chair and across the room. She pressed a button and a doctor’s examination table flipped down from the wall. Alphys motioned for Asriel to come over. “Sit down if you please . . . uh, sir?” Alphys said.

Asriel pushed himself onto the plush surface and asked, “So, how are you going to check for,” he paused, gathering his resolve to ask the absurd question, “human mind control magic?”

Alphys started hooking up sensors around Asriel and attaching wires to his body. “Well, I’m going to check to see what magic you have been affected by recently. Then I’m going to see i-if your soul has been influenced in a-any unnatural ways. So, u-uh, hold still for a bit.”

Alphys ran back in forth between the equipment and the computer. Some of the data and graphs displayed Chara recognized. ATK, DEF, HP, LV, and EXP. The others, some Chara remembered seeing and some not, completely flew over their head. After a couple of minutes of Alphys running back in forth she gasped, looking up.

Undyne got closer peering at the screen from right behind Alphys. “What, what is it Alphys?” she asked staring at the data as if the numbers and lines would suddenly be simplified.’

Alphys, too focused to notice Undyne so close to her, said over her shoulder, “Hey Sans, could you get me the Kaku-Everett Scanner?”

Everyone in the room turned to Sans who stood by the fridge. After a solid beat of silence he shrugged. “Heh, how would I know what that is? That’s a real  _ curve _ ball you threw me Al.”

She laughed nervously. “Heh, right, sorry Sans. S-sometimes I forget that y- I-I mean people in general don’t know this kind of stuff. Umm, it’s the small grey box with a light blue sensor on the bottom. It has a, uh, curved handle on the side.”

Sans nodded. “Alright, be back in a jiffy,” he said, before taking the escalator to the top of the lab.

“So, why do you need the scanner Alphys? You figure something out?” Undyne asked.

Alphys spun around, finally aware of Undyne’s proximity. “Oh, uh,” she stuttered out. “N-no, well maybe, I just, it’s, I have an idea as to what’s going on b-but I need something, ah, s-special to find what I’m looking for.”

“So it’s not mind control?”

“N-not as far as I can tell, n-no.”

Before Undyne could respond, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in!” Alphys shouted.

The automatic doors of the lab swished open and Papyrus walked in. His knees were locked, his expression as stern as he could while still being excited, and Sans was on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, asleep.

“I apologize for being late Undyne!” Papyrus exclaimed. “I had to get some other Royal Guards to take over their other posting. And of course I found Sans has just caught up with us so I brought him with me.” He set Sans on the ground, his eyes closed and magical “z” constructs floated away and dissipated. Somehow Sans fell asleep in the ten seconds from when Chara last saw him, and he can sleep standing up.

“ _ Wait a second, I didn’t see him leave. What- _ ” Chara thought. Before they could finish Sans cracked his eyes open.

“Oh yeah Alphys, found your doohickey,” he said.

“O-oh good. Can I have it?”

Sans winked. “It’s on your desk.”

Alphys turned around and, sure enough, the device she described was sitting next to the keyboard with a couple of loose papers on top of it.

Chara frowned. “ _ That definitely wasn’t there before _ ,” they thought.

“Oh!” Alphys said. “G-good. Uh, thank you?” Alphys grabbed the device and crossed the room to Asriel, who looked like he was on the verge of falling asleep, trying to sit still.

Undyne was less impressed. “You couldn’t just point that out before you left to nap outside?”

Sans looked off to the side. “Nope.”

Undyne and Papyrus groaned.

“Oh my god Sans did you seriously just pretend to fall asleep so I would carry you inside?” He half shouted. Chara wasn’t entirely sure if he could speak in a lower volume.

“Yep.”

While Undyne, Papyrus, and Sans continued to banter, Chara walked over to Asriel as Alphys looked him over with the scanner.

“Are you doing okay Rei?” they asked. “You look like you’re about to conk out.”

Asriel shook the sleepiness out of his eyes. Alphys stopped her scanning to reattach the diodes he accidentally shook off.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Asriel said. “It’s just,” he sighed, “it’s been a long day. And I’m kind of wiped. I’m used to training and, uh, playing,” he said that last word like if it was quiet enough it wouldn’t count. “Not . . . whatever’s been going on for the last couple of hours.”

Chara nodded. They knew exactly what he meant. “So Alphys, where’s our Dad?” they asked. They would think Asgore would be out of his mind with worry once he hears what happened to them.

“Y-your dad?”

Asriel nodded. “Yeah, you know, Asgore.”

Alphys’s eyes bugged out. “A-asgore D-dreemurr is your father?”

“Yeah, didn’t you know that?” Chara asked.

Alphys looked off to the side. Her eyes darting around but never meeting Asriel’s or Chara’s. “I had . . . no idea. I didn’t e-even know he could- ``she shook her head. “No that’s rude to say. Anyway, he’s probably at the palace.”

Chara covered up their frown. She must be pretty new to not know about them. “Doing royal business or something?” They asked while side eying Sans.

Alphys laughed nervously. “To be honest probably n-not. He’s most likely just w-watering the flowers or something.” 

“ _ Okay, so Dad just moved the flowers to the palace, _ ” Chara thought. They were waiting for the feeling of relief to come, but it didn’t. There was still something wrong, no matter how much Chara tried to convince themselves things were okay.

“That sounds like Dad.” Asriel stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Asriel Dreemurr,” he introduced.

Alphys looked shell-shocked. Her eyes were wide and mouth agape. She looked down at Asriel’s hand and slowly took it. The grip was so gentle, it was like she was scared he’d crumble into snow. The scanner in her other hand gave off a beep. Her eyes suddenly locked onto its display.

“Umm, everyone! I f-found out what’s wrong,” Alphys announced. As everyone turned their attention to Alphys she continued, “Well, I-i’m pretty sure, a-anyway.”

“I’m positive you’ve found the problem Alphys. Go on and tell us,” Papyrus said.

“Yeah Alphys, you’re super smart,” Undyne said in the most positive voice Chara has ever heard from her. “So, what did you find out?”

Alphys took a steadying breath. “It is m-my belief that based on the miscommunications a-and differing e-expectations between u-us and them, and the d-different timespace readings from Asriel’s magic and soul, that these two are actually f-from a-another, well, um, t-timeline.”

Everything suddenly clicked. Why everything was so wrong. Why there were these strangers and even stranger familiar faces. Everything wasn’t wrong, they were wrong. Like a jigsaw piece that it in the same hole but for the wrong picture. They were far, far away from home.

“Another timeline?” Undyne asked. “What’s that mean?”

* * *

Once Alphys explained the many worlds theory and other “basic” quantum mechanics (much to the confusion of everyone). The four monsters and human were left staring at each other.

“So . . .” Undyne began. “You were telling the truth when you said you’re Asriel Dreemurr.”

Asriel perked up, now off the examination table and with his shirt on. “Oh, yeah. But that doesn’t mean the same thing to you, I guess. Did you know your version of Asriel?”

Undyne looked off to the side biting her lip. “I’ve . . . heard of you.”

Asriel perked up. “I’m famous?”

Undyne’s singular eye turned back to Asriel. Her intense gaze so much more caring than Chara’s seen. “You’re a legend,” she whispered. “Both of you are.”

“What?” Asriel and Chara asked.

“Almost a century ago,” Undyne said. “A human fell Underground. Asriel found the human, and brought them back to the castle. Overtime, Asriel and the human became like siblings. King Asgore and the Queen treated them as one of their own.”

“Dad’s a king here?!” Asriel shouted.

Undyne nodded. “King Asgore Dreemurr is the strongest monster of the underground.” It looked like Undyne was going to continue, but cut herself off. “Yeah, anyway, the human became a symbol of hope. Everyone believed because of this one human, we might be able to be freed and make peace with the rest.” She sighed. Somehow, Chara didn’t think that was going to be the case. This story was sounding very familiar to another.

“One day, the human got sick, and, and they died. Asriel, wanting to respect the human’s last request of seeing the flowers of their village, absorbed their soul and crossed the barrier. The humans saw this, and thinking that Asriel killed them, attacked him. Asriel didn’t even fight back, he just smiled as they tried to tear him apart.”

Chara could almost see it happen in front of them. That’s exactly what Asriel would do if he thought that someone didn’t deserve it. If he had the power to destroy someone, someone who was hurting him, he wouldn’t use it. 

“When Asriel returned home, he collapsed into the bed of flowers and his dust spread across the garden.” Chara had to grab Asriel’s hand in their own. Just to make sure he was still there, furry, in one piece, and alive. The soft give of another’s hand felt through Chara’s glove was more comforting than anything they’ve felt before.

Undyne’s face went stern. “That’s when Asgore realized our true relationship with humans. That’s when he declared war on humanity. When we shatter the barrier we will take back our land by force. We will storm the humans and realize our dreams.”

As Undyne was talking, Asriel shifted himself to be standing in front of Chara, still holding their hand. When she noticed Asriel’s protective stance, her face lost some of the stern tension. “Right, anyway . . . what’s your Asgore like?”

“Dad’s the Royal scientist. He’s really smart and kind. He’s also surprisingly strong, you could never tell from just looking at him.” A fond smile crossed over Undyne’s face. A look of recognition and understanding. Chara noticed peripherally that Alphys’ face was going a bit red. 

“Yeah, that sounds like Asgore. You still live with him? If I know Asgore, I know he’d have kept you two around for as long as possible if he had the chance,” Undyne said.

“Dad’s . . . Mom’s angry at him, so we don’t live with him anymore. Actually we don’t live with Mom now either. Me and Chara live in Snowdin.”

A thought crashed into Chara’s mind as Asriel was talking. Comparing the two different Asgores and their similarities. How hard it was for them to refer to this universe’s Asgore as different than theirs. Chara nervously swallowed.

“Umm, guys? I just thought of a question we need to answer,” Chara said. When all the monsters turned their attention to them, Chara continued, “If your Asgore might mistakes us as  _ his _ and we’re legends here, what are we going to tell everyone else?”

The tension in the room ramped back up. No longer balancing on the edge of a knife, but instead all of them were holding onto the same delicate secret, not sure what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I wasn't satisfied by the narrative flow and other little details so it took awhile to finish. I'm still kind of unsatisfied but I feel like I've kept people waiting long enough. I can fix the little stuff later. I'd like to hear your thoughts and constructive criticism, so please comment or kudos if you haven't already. Happy Thanksgiving!


	4. A Gilded Miracle

Everyone in Alphys’s lab was standing in a loose oval near the center of the room, looking at each other. Each of them, except for Sans and Papyrus, were struggling to not have their gazes drift downwards too much, focusing on each other’s facial expressions and obvious signs of internal conflict. All of them were considering the same question.

_ “If your Asgore might mistakes us as his and we’re legends here, what are we going to tell everyone else?” _ echoed throughout their heads.

Undyne’s spear long gone, her hand gripping tightly on opposite arms instead. Her face showing a visible melancholy frustration. Alphys’ eyes couldn’t sit still, her mind obviously racing a mile a minute. Her gaze flickered back regularly to the sliding metal door near the upwards escalator. The expression on Sans and Papyrus’s faces were hard to decipher. They had little ability to move. The closest expression Chara could give Papyrus would be deep in thought. He just seemed uncertain about what to say, and possibly what to think. He was working hard to figure it out. Sans was as unreadable as ever, maybe even more so than the counterpart Chara was used to.

The Dreemurr siblings however? Chara didn’t even need to study Asriel that much. He was worried and concerned. Chara could see it in his eyes, because they could feel it themselves: this King Asgore isn’t _ their _ Asgore, but he’s still _ Asgore _. It would be even harder to differentiate the two if the monster was right in front of them, probably. Chara still doesn’t know how similar this one is to their’s.

“D-do we even have to tell Asgore or a-anyone else in the first place?” Alphys asked.

“What do you mean?” Undyne asked.

“I mean, I’m not sure if it’s, um, t-technically any of his b-business. They aren’t of this world, and aren’t his k-kids.”  
  
“Aren’t his kids?!” Undyne shouted. “They’re Chara and Asriel!”

Alphys looked like she was about to fold like a house of cards. “B-but not h-his Chara and Asriel. They aren’t n-natives to this world. I d-don’t think it’d be f-fair or n-nice to, umm, f-force them to deal with our problems.”

Before Undyne could respond, someone else spoke up.

“I say we don’t tell him,” Sans said. Everyone’s focus narrowed onto him. Either looking for a mistake in his reasoning to criticize, or just desperately looking for support.

“Look, we can debate the metaphysics on if this Chara and Asriel could be considered related to King Fluffybuns all day long, but that’s not the point,” he continued. “What does matter, is that you two want to get back home to your old timeline, right?”

Chara and Asriel blinked. They both nodded without a second thought. “_ That’s right _ ,” Chara thought. “ _ We got here somehow, we might be able to find a way to get back _.”

“Asgore’s an emotional guy, he’s going to think of these two as his kids, no matter if he’s right in that manner or not. So what’s the point of giving him hope, just before taking it away again?” Sans shrugged. “Seems cruel to me.”

Undyne nodded hesitantly. It was obvious he was speaking to a side she agreed with, but still had reservations about.

“You have a good point, as much as I hate to admit it-”

“Aww, thanks Undies.”  
  
“Shut it, you’re not funny,” she half-growled. “Asgore’s been lonely, for some time now. He’d probably love to have you two in his life. And it’ll definitely hurt him if you guys go back. But,” Undyne’s tone sharpened. Not in aggression, but more in discipline. “he’s the King. This may,“ she paused, “hurt him, but it’s his duty and right to know about things like this. It’s important, and ultimately, his decision.”

Was it them or did the room get a lot warmer all of a sudden? How else could Chara explain the sudden sweat that formed as they tried to defend their point. “Do we _ have _ to tell anyone? I mean, if your Asgore is anything like mine, he won’t want to kill us, right? We probably won’t even be here this long. We just have to find that snake or the artifact, right?”

Alphys gave Chara an apologetic look. “Um, e-even if we d-do find whatever i-it is that brought you here. T-that doesn’t mean w-we have the t-technology or m-magic to do so. It’s, it’s probably g-going to take a lot of research. N-now that I think about it, i-it’s not like we can just l-lock you up in s-some b-basement.” Her eyes flickered to Sans.

Chara grimaced. “_ Who’s side is she on anyway? _”

Undyne gave Chara a sidelong look. “Besides, even if I know Asgore won’t have you killed, I’m still under orders to hunt down all humans who fall underground and bring them to the King.”

Asriel immediately stepped in between Undyne and Chara.

“But Chara didn’t fall!” Asriel said. “They were brought here through, uh, interdimensional travel due to the assistance of a third party. So they didn’t fall underground, and therefore not included in your orders.”

Undyne blinked in surprise. Chara could see her gaze become unfocused as she thought about the words and whether or not they had validity.

“Interdimensional travel through the assistance of a third party?” Chara asked quietly.

“Shut up,” Asriel whispered back. “I was trying to sound official.”

Undyne looked over at Alphys. “Is he right? Does that count?” she asked.

Alphys hesitantly nodded. “T-technically? The law is all h-humans who _ fall _ Underground are to be brought to the k-king. And, uh, t-technically they didn’t, you know, f-fall.”

Undyne scowled. “That doesn’t change the fact that Asgore needs to know about this. Sure, it may not be my _ specific _ duty to bring them in, but he still needs to make a ruling on this. The human _ could be _ the seventh soul.”

Asriel shook his head. “No! I won’t let you hurt Chara.” And then his expression turned from firm and resolute to soft and sympathetic. “And besides, I don’t want Da- I mean your Asgore to have to deal with this.”

Chara wasn’t sure if he was being sincere or attempting to exploit her connection to Asgore but either way, Undyne’s expression was just as conflicted as it was before.

“I believe I have a solution to this predicament!” Papyrus announced. Almost everyone in the room turned to the skeleton in surprise, as he has been silent for most of the conversation. Sans’ expression didn’t change, his eyelights just easily slid over to his brother. “The core of this issue seems to be that Asgore will see you two and not be able to understand that you aren’t exactly his children, and be reminded of his grief, yes?” 

A little curious to where he was going with this, Chara nodded. 

“So,” Papyrus continued, “while I do believe I would react similarly if I were in this situation, that does not have to be the end of it! If we are there for him during his initial bad reaction and explain it to him, I’m sure he will understand! And afterwards, you two can form a new relationship with our Asgore! I’m sure you can be good friends or even a temporary family! Whoever said you could only have one dad?”

Chara could see Asriel nodding along to Papyrus’s words. They could certainly see the appeal of what he was saying. However, Chara still really didn’t want to do this.

“What if he gets angry at us, or, uh, something?” Chara asked.

Papyrus blinked in surprise. “That’s silly. King Fluffybuns would never get angry at you.” But as he noticed Chara’s discomfort he continued. “But if that does happen you can stay with me and Sans! I promise we will support you. Well, I will support you. Sans would probably yell bad puns at you from his room.”

“Guilty,” Sans said.

Chara’s lips pressed into a tight line. “_ I really don’t want to do this but I can see Asriel wants to, _” they thought. “Fine,” they said. “I’m willing to let Asgore know about us.”

Undyne nodded. “Great.” She turned towards the door and jerked forwards with her head. “Let’s go.”

Walking through New Home was weird. Mostly because Mom didn’t let Chara or Asriel talk to the king if she can help it. But the context of this new world and slightly different people and the weight of importance didn’t help. Papyrus energetically led the way, while Undyne marched behind both Chara and Asriel. Chara had to look around Undyne to see Sans lazily trailing behind everyone.

Chara nudged Asriel lightly, careful not to push him down on accident.

“Hey Rei?” Chara asked.

“Yeah Chara?”

“You think if you’re treated like royalty you’ll be closer to becoming a deity?”

Asriel blinked. And then he laughed. “Who knows?” he asked. “Maybe I want to earn deityhood back home?”

“Yeah.” Chara laughed weakly.

Everyone continued to walk in silence.

Eventually the house came into view and Chara felt their soul lurch. They stepped around the save point as subtly as possible and entered behind Papyrus. Chara recognized the whimsum and froggits near the entrance: the royal attendants. They didn’t look different than the ones Chara has seen, but they weren’t sure.

The royal attendants turned to greet them, and froze in shock. “A . . . Asriel Dreemurr?” the Whimsun asked.

The Froggit ribbitted, but Chara understood them better than if they spoke english. “The human,” the froggit said. “they must be Chara Dreemurr.”

The Whimsun fluttered around the two. “The royal family is alive once more!”

Undyne rose a hand. “We’re on official business, can you please get the tw-” but before she could finish, the two monsters sped off in opposite directions and returned with the two keys. Papyrus took the keys and unlocked the chain.

As they walked to the stairs, Chara glanced down the hallway and the kitchen. The sight of a clean King’s home was a little disorienting, but not more so than the many golden flowers that were peppered through the home. Chara could only think of Dad.

When the group got to the bottom of the stairs a pair of Migosp stared at Asriel and Chara. “The royal siblings are alive!” they both said in shocked joy.

Chara looked to their brother. He looked just as uncomfortable as they felt. As much as Chara wanted to enjoy making these monsters so happy, they knew it wasn’t what they thought was going on. Chara tried their best to not make eye contact as they walked past the monsters.

As the group walked down the long hallway Chara saw more and more of the royal attendants react in disbeliving joy, and Chara could feel more and more guilt.

“The royal siblings returned home!”

“A miracle has brought back hope!”

“Asriel was saved from the humans’ attacks!”

Everyone, not wanting keep on pushing through all the royal attendants, piled into the elevator and took it to the opposite end.

“Wowie,” Papyrus said. “Everyone’s so happy to see you!”

Asriel flinched.

“Can you imagine how sad they’ll be when we leave?” Chara muttered.

There was silence for a few moments before Papyrus said, “That may be true, but I’m sure they’ll learn to enjoy what time you can spend here, just like you can enjoy your time here, even if it’s not your home.” 

Before anyone could respond the elevator doors opened. 

As everyone stepped out they realized two things. One: All the royal attendants have followed them to the other end, whispering to each other in joy and awe. And two: Sans was nowhere to be seen.

“What the?” Undyne asked. “Where’d Sans go?”

Papyrus waved his hand. “Oh I’m sure he’s fine. He’ll make it here one way or another. Or he took a break.” And with that he headed back towards the throne room.

As they were walking, Undyne kept shooting glares to stop the royal attendants from following the party the rest of the way, many only increased the distance they kept and still followed.

When Chara entered the sunlit corridor, they could feel a definite change in the atmosphere. They always felt this in this room. The light that filtered in through the windows reminded them of the setting sun on the surface. The ventilation and airflow in this small section of hallway flowed better, allowing for a cool breeze to blow gently through. Chara liked this place, it just let them breathe easier.

And then while they were walking through the corridor, they looked to the right to see Sans asleep behind a pillar.

For just a second, they forgot where they were and what was going on and they asked, “Your majesty?”

One eye opened. “Oh hey guys,” he said. “What’s going on?”

Memories slammed back and Chara remembered this lazy skeleton was not their monarch.

“Sans!” Papyrus shouted. “Do you really have to sleep in the castle?”

He shrugged. “It’s fine. I’ll just be here to make sure no one eavesdrops on your conversation with the king. No big deal. It’ll be like sentry work.”

Undyne scoffed. “If you’re going to be doing your standard sentry work then I guess me and Papyrus will have to keep an eye out for visitors too.” She started walking away. “Keep one eye open Sans.”

“Always do Undyne.”

And with that the group of three monsters and a human left the hallway. Chara threw one last cursory glance over their shoulder as they left. “_ How’d he get there without anyone knowing? _ ” Chara thought. “ _ Could he have- no. Couldn’t be. _”

And then everyone was standing outside the throne room. Chara could see the back of the king, King Asgore, as he hummed a familiar tune and watered the many golden flowers.

Asriel turned to Papyrus and Undyne. “Let us go in to talk to him first. Okay?”

Undyne opened her mouth as if to protest, but stopped herself. After a moment she nodded.

Asriel and Chara stepped into the throne room. Being careful to not disturb the flowers too much, Asriel’s footfalls softly crunched the stems.

“Oh you do not have to be so careful, I promise you those flowers can survive visitors walking on them,” Asgore said. His voice was the same, but there was a more innate volume to this Asgore than the one Chara was used to.

Asriel and Chara shared a look. Asriel motioned as if to ask if he should go first. Chara gave him the right of way.

“Howdy!” Asriel said.

Asgore froze.

“Really Rei? You start out with howdy?” Chara asked.

Asgore’s head slowly turned to look over at the siblings over his shoulder.

“What? We need to greet him somehow,” Asriel defended.

“Yeah but this is kind of important. I think howdy doesn’t set the right tone.”

Asriel was about to argue back but then noticed Asgore has turned mostly around and was staring at them in horror. His face much paler than the counterpart Chara was used to. For some reason they thought that was a special circumstance.

“Oh uh, sorry there,” Asriel said while scratching the back of his head. “What I’m trying to say is-”

“No,” Asgore whispered. “No no no no no.” The words streamed out increasing in volume with each utterance.

Asriel instantly rushed forward to try and comfort the large boss monster. “Whoa, hey! It’s alright. I’m sure-”

Asgore’s face crumpled into grief. “Now my nightmares haunt me while awake. I can’t lose you again.” And with that said he slumped to his knees and fell forward, barely stopping himself from completely collapsing.

Chara and Asriel were left standing over him looking at each other in shared concern for the monster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for taking so long. It was really hard for some reason write each character's arguments that brought up everything I thought it should. And while a lot of the chapter was in Chara's head, I'm going to be trying to focus on other character's more so you can have a better idea of what they're doing. If you have any advice or constructive criticism please let me know! Or if you want to talk about how worried you are for what's going on, I'm cool with that too.


End file.
